Johor govt wants back a portion of Tourism Tax

JOHOR BARU: The Johor government wants a portion of the Tourism Tax channelled back to it said Datuk Tee Siew Kiong.
The State Tourism, Trade and Consumerism Committee chairman said the federal government should establish a mechanism to ensure fair distribution of the tourism tax revenue to the states for the greater promotion and growth of the tourism industry.
He said the quantum to be given to the state could be pegged to the number of hotels or places of accommodation in each state.
"Eleven international-standard hotels are being built and are expected to be completed in 2019," he said at a breaking-of-fast with the media here on Monday.
He said that as of February this year, Johor had 102 star-class hotels with 10,971 rooms.
Tee felt that the tourism tax did not impose a burden on any quarters because a similar levy had been implemented in Malacca, Penang and Langkawi.
"The Johor government had also proposed a tax on accommodation to increase income to implement more initiatives, policies and promotional and marketing efforts to grow the tourism industry," he said.
The legislation on tourism tax, approved by the Dewan Rakyat at its last sitting, allows for the collection of the tax beginning July 1 from all types of premises used as accommodation, ranging from RM2.50 a room each night at a non-rated accommodation to RM20 a room each night at a five-star accommodation.